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questions about times

1.
What's the exact meaning of 'this street is three times wider than that one'?
Suppose the width of 'that one' is 1 meter, what is the width of 'this stree', 3 meters, 4 meters or other numbers?

2.
A grammar guide says 'he is more than three times as rich as I' = 'he is three times richer than I. I doubt it very much. According to the two above-mentioned sentence, suppose 'I' have 100 dollars, how much does 'he' have respectively?

3.
What's the exact meaning of 'this street is four times shorter than that one'? Suppose the length of 'that one' is 100 meters, what is the length of 'this street'?

Re: questions about times

Originally Posted by enydia

Hi, Teachers.

I have several questions about times.

1.
What's the exact meaning of 'this street is three times wider than that one'? That depends on who you ask, so there is no exact meaning!
Suppose the width of 'that one' is 1 meter, what is the width of 'this stree', 3 meters, 4 meters or other numbers? Some say 3 meters and some say 4, so obviously one shouldn't say 'x times (wider)(longer)(older)(etc) than' because the meaning is not clear. One should say 'x times as (wide)(long)(old) as'. This street is 3 times as wide as that one.
2.
A grammar guide says 'he is more than three times as rich as I am' = 'he is three times richer than I am. They are not the same.'more than three times as rich as' means somewhere between three times as rich and four times as rich'. So in the example below, he has more than 300 dollars but less than 400 dollars.'three times richer than' is again unclear and should not be used.
I doubt it very much. According to the two above-mentioned sentence, suppose 'I' have 100 dollars, how much does 'he' have respectively?

3.
What's the exact meaning of 'this street is four times shorter than that one'? Suppose the length of 'that one' is 100 meters, what is the length of 'this street'? Saying 'x times (shorter)(younger)(poorer) than' is even worse than 1. and 2. above. Don't say that. Say 'This street is (one quarter)(one fourth) as long as that one.', which I can only guess is what the original sentence wants to say. (25 meters)

Re: questions about times

I'm sorry I didn't state it clearly enough. In fact, all of the words "times" I mentioned and will mention mean number by which something is multiplied or divided.

All of the following phrases are from a grammar guide (written in Chinese):
(1) decrease n times/n-fold;
(2) decrease by n times;
(3) decrease by a factor of n
The guide says they all mean 'decrease to 1/n the original amount'. But I have some questions.

"(1) decrease three times = decrease on 3 separate occasions"
It seems not clear enough that using this phrase to describe division, but I really saw some examples, such as "the average survival time decreased 3-fold for Group iv and 4-fold for Group iii cells." What is the most probable meaning in such cases?

"(2) decrease by three times By itself, it doesn't mean anything.'It will decrease by three times the original estimate.' means it will decrease by three times as much as originally thought."What is the meaning of "it will decrease by three times as much as originally thought"?
Take the following sentence for example.When the voltage is lower，the strength of the current decreases by three times.If the original strength of the current is 30, what will it be after decrease? In my opinion, there are three possibilities: -60, 20 and 10, because 30-30*3=-60, 30-30/3=20 and 30/3=10 (according to the above-mentioned grammar guide). In fact, I'm very uncertain of the meaning of "decrease by". Can you give me some advice?

In the same grammar guide, there are another 4 phrases using increase:
(4) increase to n times
(5) increase n times/n-fold
(6) increase by n times
(7) increase by a factor of n
The guide says they all mean 'increase to n times the original amount'.
What's your comment about them?
Can you show me some clear enough and commonly used expression?
If any of them is not clear enough but I see it while reading, what's the most probable meaning?

In addition, what's the meaning of "a record high increase in value of four times was reported"?

Re: questions about times

I. decrease three times, 3-fold
For example, if the average survival time for a fruit fly is, say, 24 hours, but some flies are surviving for only 8 hours, then the average survival time is said to have decreased 3-fold; i.e., 24hrs / 8hrs = 3, or 8 goes into 24 three times.

II. "A record high increase in value of four times [the valued amount] was reported." For example, a painting valued at 1,000,000 dollars is sold for 4,000,000 dollars; i.e., 1 x 4.

Re: questions about times

I. decrease three times, 3-foldThis sounds very odd and is quite unclear. One wants to ask, "decrease (3 times)(3-fold)" what amount? In the example below, it is impossible to decrease it by 72 hours. (3 times 24)

For example, if the average survival time for a fruit fly is, say, 24 hours, but some flies are surviving for only 8 hours, then the average survival time is said to have decreased 3-fold; i.e., 24hrs / 8hrs = 3, or 8 goes into 24 three times. I would only say 'decrease toone third' or 'decrease by two thirds'. (you could also use percentages instead of fractions)

II. "A record high increase in value to(my change) four times [the valued amount] was reported." For example, a painting valued at 1,000,000 dollars is sold for 4,000,000 dollars; i.e., 1 x 4.[/quote]

An increase of four times should mean an increase to 5,000,000 dollars. You start with 1 M. Then you have an increase of four times the original amount (= increase of 4 M). So you should have 5 M. So I think 'increase of x times' is unclear and should not be used!